autoevolution 6 Apr 2021, 11:07 UTC ·
by 1 photo
Starship is how Elon Musk and SpaceX presently call the prototypes of the ultimate spaceship, which will likely take humans to Mars for the first time. Many years probably have to pass before that actually happens, but tests of the technology are already underway.
One after the other, four Starship prototypes SN8, SN9, SN10, SN11 took off and ended up exploding in various positions and for various reasons. And all of these events were caught on tape, of course.
The last to attempt a perfect takeoff and landing combo was the SN11. It departed for the Texas sky in extremely heavy fog (not that it matters for a rocket), which contributed greatly to the feeling of impending doom one gets when watching the video below.
Elon Musk reveals what made SpaceX s Starship SN11 prototype explode
SpaceX has sent four prototypes of its eventual Mars rocket to big-booster heaven. Listen - 02:13
Starship prototype SN10 comes in for a landing. SpaceX
The latest SpaceX Starship prototype, called SN11, met an explosive end last week like its three predecessors. But the conditions around the big boom were uniquely mysterious, as dense fog and malfunctioning cameras obscured the details of its ultimate fate.
Now company founder and CEO Elon Musk has some details on what happened in SN11 s final moments. On Twitter Monday morning, Musk attributed the explosion to a fuel leak.
autoevolution 1 Apr 2021, 5:45 UTC ·
by 3 photos
In the larger context of what Elon Musk is hoping to achieve with SpaceX, this is just a silly little side-note, of course. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO has made no secret of his hopes to pave the way for the colonization of Mars by making space flights more accessible, more frequent, and less costly with the Starship rocket.
Currently, Starship prototypes are being tested at Boca Chica in Texas in the hope they will be able to land, do a flip maneuver, and then land vertically. SN11 launched the other day, and unlike predecessor SN10, it exploded right before or during the landing.
Close icon
Two crossed lines that form an X . It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
SpaceX has released a new video of its third Starship rocket prototype landing on March 3.
The video gives a close-up of the engines in action, and shows the SN10 rocket bounce upon landing.
The Starship SN10 prototype exploded 10 minutes after it landed, but this was left out of the video.
Elon Musk s SpaceX on Wednesday posted a new high-definition video of the latest Starship rocket s test flight.
The rocket prototype, called SN10, successfully blasted off from Boca Chica, Texas, on March 3. SN10 landed in one piece, but it exploded 10 minutes later on the landing pad. SpaceX left the explosion out of its new video.
But the SN10 faired better than the prototypes which came before it.
When the SN9 launched on February 2 following weeks of delays, it ended in disaster for the company.
The rocket successfully cruised at an altitude of 10 kilometres. But as SN9 approached the landing pad, one of its engines failed to ignite and the rocket struggled to control its speed.
The SN10 landed before it exploded (Image: SPACEX)
Starship could one day take humans to Mars (Image: SPACEX)
Once it hit the ground, the spacecraft exploded into a huge ball of flames.
The SN9 s predecessor, the SN8, suffered a similar fate on its attempted land in December.